1. Related Applications
There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or any foreign country.
2. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to single use, releasably fastenable sweat bands, and more particularly to such a sweat band having a peripheral cover formed with a pervious inner side and an impervious outer side and carrying a pad of absorbing material.
3. Background and Description of Prior Art
Sweat bands have long been known and used on the extremities of the human body, and especially the head and arms, to absorb perspiration and prevent its flow on the body surface past the sweat band during periods of active exercise or exertion. Such bands in their simplest and primitive form merely provide an elongate piece of pervious material, such as absorbent cloth or paper, that is wrapped and releasably fastened about the body part being serviced. Such devices during their course of development have become more sophisticated to provide complex bands having plural element defining structures allowing formation by releasably fastening the ends of a flat band to each other with secondary structure providing elastically deformable means to aid positional maintenance. My invention provides a new, novel and improved device of this latter class.
Sweat bands generally provide a somewhat flattened bandlike structure configured for use as an annulus to provide surface contact of some substantial areal extent on the human body to allow them to more effectively fulfill their purposes. Some such bands are permanently formed in an annular configuration, but in general the more convenient type for placement is formed of flexible material with an elongate shape and with fastening means in their end portions to releasably connect the band ends to form an annulus of somewhat cylindrical configuration. This releasable type of fastening provides the added benefit of allowing an adjustable interconnection so that a band may be variously sized to allow a better fit upon a body portion and to allow a single band to be usable through a range of sizes. Many such known adjustably and releasably fastened bands, however, have not provided perspiration absorbing means about substantially their body contacting surface because of particular methods of formation or means for fastening. My sweat band solves this problem by providing a substantially homogeneous and continuous inner perspiration absorbing surface about substantially the entire body contacting area of the band.
Most known sweat bands have provided perspiration permeable material on both inner body contacting surface and outer exposed surface to allow perspiration to pass through the band and evaporate on its external surface. This evaporative function has commonly been required because the sweat band itself did not absorb and contain sufficient quantities of perspiration during a period of use and unless part of that accumulated perspiration were removed the band would cease to properly function. My invention in contradistinction provides a sweat band having a peripherally defined cover carrying perspiration absorbing material in its internal channel with a potentiality for absorption and containment of substantial amounts of perspiration, greater than will be developed during any continuous period of use of the device. This absorptive material is not configurationally stable as were paper and fabric sweat bands of the past, and therefore requires the particularized construction of my band providing an external casement, which distinguishes my band from prior devices. This particular structure allows my sweat band to be formed with different materials on its inner body contacting surface and its outer exposed surface, and the particular moisture absorbing material allows the outer surface to be formed of perspiration impervious material both of which features further distinguish my invention from prior sweat bands.
Sweat bands generally require some type of biasing to aid their positional maintenance and most have provided an elastically deformable material in their structure, commonly configured to extend in a circular band when in their annular mode. Such elastically deformable material has generally been created in the sweat band structure itself or has been a separate structure that is incorporated by sewing or other mechanical fastening. In either case, the structures generally have been complex and difficult of formation and have added disportionate expense to the general sweat band structure.
My invention in distinguishment provides a strip of elastomeric material carried by one surface of the tubular peripheral band cover. The material is an elastic polymere that may be applied in a viscous extrudable form to the surface of the cover to which it adheres for positional maintenance, but after a period of drying or curing contracts while yet maintaining adhesion, coherence and elasticity to pucker the cover carrying the material. This provides an elastomeric structure that will create a bias in a circular direction when the sweat band is placed about part of a body larger than the circumference of the band in its relaxed state. This type of elastomeric element provides a simple, inexpensive biasing means particularly adapted to mass production to further distinguishes my sweat band from those heretofore known.
Most prior sweat bands have been created for multiple use probably primarily because of their cost, though such use is not particularly desirable as various components of perspiration which they absorb remain in the bands to make multiple use physically, biologically and ascetically undesirable. The perspiration residues left in sweat bands commonly are odoriferous and often become more so after the lapse of time by reason of bacterial activity, oxidation and other chemical activity. Human perspiration also commonly contains various microbal agents which become resident in the sweat band where environmental conditions often are such as to encourage their growth and activity to create potential future hazards to health. Physically sweat bands often take a long period of time to dry after periods of use, if they ever do, and such moist sweat bands are generally not ascetically pleasing to a user at the time of a subsequent period of reuse. My invention solves these problems by providing a sweat band that is economically viable for single use.
My invention resides not in any one of these features per se, but rather in the synergistic combination of all of the structures of my sweat band that necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom, as herein specified and claimed.